Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1887-12-09
THE NEW PARTY.
A Western Reserve Republican Who
Will Not Train with the
Into Sa.oonists.
From the Voice.

l have been lifelong temperance Re-
publican. am now constrained by sense
of duty to leave that party and vote this
year, at least, the third party ticket. Sew
eral friends have asked me to give my rea-
sons for the change. beg permission to
do SO through your paper, as no Republic
can journal of any importance will do SO.
l. believe there is no radical difference
between the Republican and the Demo-
cratic parties to-day on any general prin-
ciples Of government. They differ on nom
essentials. They differ slightly in their
attitude toward the temperance reform, the
Republicans being in advance of the Dem
ocrats at the North, and the Democrats in
advance of the Republicans at the South.
The triumph of one of these over the other
cannot be a matter of supreme interest to
patriotic citizens. Hence it is a favorable
time for men to make positive stand for
great moral issue, if that issue is ig-
nored by both the old parties, as it prac-
tically is.
| 2. The saloon question, which is now in
politics to stay, is confessedly an issue of
| overshadowing importance to the people.
The evil is declared by all to be colossal.
The nature of the rum power is we'll known.
The methods of its supporters to affect
legislation and to defeat existing laws for
its restraint are perfectly understood. They
rebel against law; they boycott, they bride,
they burn, they murder. And yet Repub-
lican leaders are counting the votes and
compromising with the saloon system in
order to beat the Democrats, and Demo-
cratic leaders are doing the same to beat
the Republicans. Shame upon them both
3. While tbs true t1at there are far more
temperance men in the Republican than in
Democratic ranks, yet the managers of the
Republican party are no less Jealous and
no less successful in holding the liquor
vote than those of the Democratic party
Our present Republican Governor of Ohio
is an inveterate partisan, man of great
ambition, and cursed with rare ability to
hold, by cheap ad cap 'andum vulgus meth
DDS, the attachment of men, and to make
large capital for himself out of very small
stock. He spoke two hours and half the
other day in Elyria, and devoted some five
minutes to the discussion of the temper
ance reform and an hour to pensions and
Rebel flags, in desperate attempt to Sc
cure the soldiers vote. / happen to be a
soldier, with some interest in the cause
of the Union. But man who is not
sharp enough to see through so cheap
a piece of demagogism as this speech would
hardly know rebel from a Union flag
The Governor and his bodyguard are I'M
usually successful in seeming to favor adj
|
ing the liquor dealers thatthey have nothing
to fear and everything to hope from their
administration. 1t seems now clear that they
have no purpose to work for the extermina-
ton of the liquor traffic, or to go beyond
such restrictive legislation as will avoid
alternating the vote OF brewers and saloon
lists. Thus, with all its large Temperance
constituency, tie Republican party. while
pretending to advance, is only marking
time" have, therefore, become convinced
that no argument will change these lead
ers but one; that is to vote for an opposite
candidate. In Kansas or Iowa I would
still be a Republican, but in Ohio my duty
is clear.
4. 1t seems to me practically self evident
that the two antagonistic elements of the
Republican party (the temperance men and
the liquor mem must divide. What Mr..
Lincoln said of the country-that it must
be either all slave or all free-may be said
of the Republican party: it must be either
all saloon or all anti saloon. The incon-
gruity of Union soldiers, the defenders of
the country, and rum sellers, the destroy
ers of it, acting and voting together under
long to remain. Against the submission
to the nations being robbed of 81 400,
DOC, 900 annually, and its people morally
debauched for the sake of 1856, 900, OOl
!; back in revenue, the broad common sense
of men will ultimately revolt. Hence, the
men who are trying SO adroitly to keer
these two elements yoked together are not
! the real friends even Of the old Republican
party, much less the friends of the tenn.
perance cause.
, S. To illustrate the attitude of the Re.
) publican party even in our good old Repub.
| lican county of Lorain, majority Of its
leading men at the county seat have jus